Corrupted
by beckyjo13xxx
Summary: Ash has been kidnapped by Team Rocket, Misty escaped with the help of her old friend Gary. Now, they must work together to stop Team Rocket's plans of capturing the legendary birds and beasts, altering the balance of the world. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The sun shone brightly through the misty clouds, its light touched the pastel coloured flowers in the field of sweet green grass. Petals floated on the wind with all of the leaves from the autumn trees. In the middle of it all, two shapes lying side by side in the grass, so close they could almost be mistaken for one. His dark head of hair and intense brown eyes, her fiery red hair and sensitive blue eyes, a soft cerulean blue; both their eyes seemed to glisten as they gazed at each other with such passion such emotion. Gently he lifted his hand and caressed her soft, silky cheek and even more gently he spoke words that many of us dream of hearing.

"I love you." She smiled back, her heart raced with excitement, she knew this day would come soon and she was so happy that he had picked such a beautiful day to say those blessed words for the very first time.

"I love you to." The words flew from her mouth with such ease, making her heart flutter like the petals in the wind. Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled as he moved his hand from her cheek and gently supported her chin, pulling her lips closer to his. Her lips were delightfully soft, softer and kinder than her skin which he always thought was difficult to achieve.

"Piakchu!" A cheeky little voice sounded as he jumped up on the young man's shoulder, interrupting their moment of passion, but they did not complain. Instead, they smiled and laughed as the familiar Pikachu began to ask for attention from the pair. The girl with flowing red hair pulled him closer to her and gave Pikachu a warm and loving hug, lifting up not only their spirits, but also the boy who owned the electric Pokemon. Ash Ketchum.

"That's why I love you, Misty, right there." He spoke, with a huge smile written on his face.

"I suppose your about to tell me how wonderful I am now?" She replied cheekily.

"I will if you want me to"

"Well then, I guess that you had better get started." They both giggled as they looked at each other, Misty with her cheekiness and Ash with his enduring love. However, the small Pikachu suddenly stopped smiling. His ears pricked up as straight as an arrow. He struggled his way out of Misty's caring embrace, shocking the pair and setting them on edge.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked as he rose, although he had formed a close bond with his Pokemon, he still struggled to completely understand him and his actions, but one thing he did understand was that something was out there. Good or bad, something was there.

"Ash, what is it?" Misty asked as she cautiously sat up.

"I don't know." Ash voice sounded calm, but deep inside his heart was pounding. He was scared but he couldn't show it, how could he show the women he loved how scared he was? If there was danger, would she ever rely on him to help save her?

"Piakchu!" Pikachu snarled angrily, electricity sparked from his cheek as he should ready to fight.

"Ash, we should go look."

"No! No… you need to stay here…"

"But Ash I can help!" Misty protested as she stood, no longer cautiously, instead she stood and spoke as fiery as her hair.

"No, please Misty just stay back, let me handle it." Ash ran forward to his Pikachu's side and they both continued on together to the nearby forest.

"Ash!" Misty shouted with furious anger, but then before she could continue her rage, she noticed that Ash and Pikachu had stopped as figures began to emerge from the trees. Dark figures, all in black uniforms with bore a mark which Misty couldn't quite make out but she had a vague idea who they were. Team Rocket; a criminal organisation thought to have divided years ago, at the hands of Ash Ketchum himself.

Misty could not hear what they said to each other, but what she could see was Ash desperately trying to protect himself from their vicious pokemon. Nidokings, Nidoqueens, Golem, Electivire's there were so many, and as Misty looked around for a place to hide, she could see even more surrounding them. She turned back to look at Ash whose Pikachu and been thrown into the air with such amazing power from a Nidoking. He landed hard into the ground, too far away from Misty to see the damage but anybody could tell that it was severe. "Ash! Pikachu!" She yelled desperately. Ash turned to her, and he could see him waving his arms frantically and moving his lips, but she still could not hear him. In a desperate attempt, he removed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it into the air before a goon had grabbed him from behind.

Out of the Pokeball emerged a large Pidgeot, a Pokemon which Ash has had for a long time, until he released it to help protect a flock of bird Pokemon. Misty remembered the moment when he recaptured it well, it was a hard battle even for his Pikachu but he managed it and was so happy to have an old friend back. Now Misty realised what he was telling her, he was telling her to get away. Pidgeot got closer and closer to her, dodging all the attacks that came his way, but Misty was no longer concentrating on that, she was focusing on her boyfriend, now being carried away by the goons, but out of the corner of her eye she could see more. More goons, but this time they were coming towards her! In a massive panic she grabbed hold of the great bird's leg and he carried her away.

Desperately, Misty looked back to try and find any trace of Ash in the woods, but there was nothing. All she could see were attacks coming from their Pokemon, but more than that. She could see Fearow. Lots of Fearow, each with a Team Rocket grunt riding them and they were getting very close, very fast.

"Pidgeot! We have to fly faster!" Pidgeot flew as fast as he could but he could never outrun birds with such power, such speed. But it wasn't the birds that got them. A wild thunderbolt from a Pokemon on the ground hit them with such force that Misty screamed out in agony as the electricity surged through her muscles. The pain was excruciating, but she had to hold on, it was the only hope she had; but one thing that she had forgotten, what's the point in holding on to a flying Pokemon, which is now collapsing to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_**A little note from me**_

**Hiya everyone! I would first like to thank all those of you who have read the very first chapter of this story; I am very pleased with the response so far. I would love to hear what you think of it so please take some time out to write a review, I would love to hear all your feedback!**

**Thanks again**

**beckyjoxxx**

It's a strange feeling; falling. To Misty it felt like she was falling forever. She clung on desperately for her dear life, but through the crippled Pidgeot's feathers she could see that falling was not her biggest concern. Two, maybe three Fearow were flying towards them at a terrific speed, each with a member from the illusive Team Rocket sat on its strong spine.

"Pidgeot! Pidgeot!" She cried out desperately through the strong winds, "Pidgeot! You've got to wake up! Please! Pidgeot!" Suddenly, she heard a loud welp from the bird Pokemon, Misty pulled herself up against the bird's mighty claws and looked back up. All she could see was a dark brown shadow. A Fearow's shadow. She clambered up his leg until she was almost on his back, but what she saw almost made her heart cry in horror. Fearow had imbedded his claws into Pidgeot's back and was now carrying both of them across the vast sky.

Misty used what little strength she had left to pull herself up onto the bird's back, and then cautiously she made her way towards Fearow's legs, trying desperately not to look down. As she moved, she could feel the mighty bird's racing heartbeat; she could hear his cries of pain, such pain. Worst of all, she could see the birds blood dripping out of his wounds. With every bit of strength she violently kicked its strong legs until the bird finally lost its grip. Pidgeot screamed again for a moment as the sharp claws were quickly pulled from its skin.

"Pidgeot, please!" Misty pleaded, "You're our last hope!" Misty's eyes swelled with tears as she realised just how much she was asking of him. Pidgeot's back was causing the bird agony and he was struggling to stay in the sky, whilst at the same time those Fearow were quickly gaining on them. All looked hopeless.

"Give up now!" A voice suddenly called from behind. As Misty turned her gaze, she saw the original 3 Fearow hovering behind them as Pidgeot slowed down, but there was something else now. A Skarmory, a huge fearful Skarmory with his master sat menacingly on his back. As she turned her head back around, one of the Fearow from behind her had suddenly appeared in front of her. _I'm surrounded!_ "If you come with us quietly, we won't harm you."

"I don't believe you!" Misty yelled,

"I don't think you're in a position to doubt us, do you?"

Misty quickly looked around. He was right; there was no way out of this. _Ash would know what to do. My only hope is to try and stall them for as long as possible. _"Alright then tell me, why did you take Ash?"

The leader, or at least presumed leader, just snarled whilst he shook his head articulately. "Would a champion tell his opponent his tactics?"

"You've got me cornered, you could at least be decent and answer my question." Misty began to panic as her come back was followed with silence. She watched the man looked to the others around him, possibly for support, approval, suggestions? She had no idea but it seemed to her as though they gave him no encouragement or disapproval. _Maybe he isn't a leader… either that or everyone is afraid of him._

"Alright, I will tell you that he is a key element in our plan."

"Well that much I gathered, do you…"

"If I tell you anymore I will be forced to kill you right here right now, I don't think you want that do you." Sharply cutting her short, "Now I suggest you make this easy and come quietly, Misty. Otherwise, it will a long fall for both of you."

A spark lit in Misty's eye. _Fall, that's it! _She looked back at Pidgeot and gently lowered her head to his ear, whilst trying to hide her lips from unwanted eyes. She looked back, giving the impression that she was going to give in. As the Skarmory trainer ordered his men around Pidgeot without any warning performed an incredible sky dive and began to hurtle towards the ground at an incredible speed.

"No!" He yelled, "After her now, go go go go go!" In quick succession, each Team Rocket goon followed her down, but they weren't as well trained as Pidgeot. When he mentioned the fall to the ground, it was then that Misty had remembered how hard Ash had trained with Pidgeot to improve his flying skills; including diving downward at incredible speeds just using gravity and not to mention flying through thick jungle. _The perfect getaway, just as long Pidgeot has the strength to pull it of! _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Boss" The leader shouted through his earpiece as he dived following Misty with the rest of his men.

"_Status report" _The voice replied.

"Our primary target has been captured, but there is a problem."

"_A witness?"_

"Yes sir, our Intel was wrong, the target was not alone."

"_Where is the witness now?"_

"We are in pursuit, the target is heading towards the forest but the Pidgeot she is riding has been badly injured, it won't be long until we catch up."

"_Then why are you bothering to contact me soldier?"_

"Because sir, this witness could be of use to us. She is the primary target's girlfriend, sir."

"_Hmmm, you are right. She could be of use to me. , but if something should go wrong, bring back her body."_

"Understood, sir." As he tapped his earpiece, he looked over to see his men also diving down with him, but none of his Fearow could keep up with the amazing speed of his Skarmory. "The boss wants her alive, capture her and bring her back to me!" He ordered.

"Yes sir!" All his men replied in unison as they continued to dive whilst the leader suddenly pulled up and watched them fly into the forest from afar. "If that Pidgeot is as good a flyer as they say, my men will never catch it." He watched as his team struggled to keep up down below, yet as he watched he also found the perfect opportunity.

* * *

"Keep going Pidgeot!" Misty yelled as the three Fearow followed behind. "They can't use their speed in here, but I know you can!" Pidgeot replied, but his shrill was weak. "I know, I am so sorry Pidgeot but you need to keep going, just for a little while longer!" Pidgeot carried on looking straight ahead, his eyes filled with a fiery determination that is often seen in the eyes of his trainer.

Pidgeot's determination pulled through, he was able to skilfully dodge all of the obstacles in it's path without losing hardly any of its tremendous speed. As Misty turned her back, she could see that now there was only two Fearow behind her, obviously one had failed to negotiate through these forests. "We've lost one, now there's only two on our tail!" This news appeared to encourage Pidgeot, as soon after his speed increased even more, almost as though he had not just endured any injuries at all, let alone any serious ones. "You're incredible pidgeot!" Misty praised further.

As she looked ahead, she could see the branches becoming much more wild and unruly, the branches all curved and joined together forming a tight mesh of thorns and impossible small spaces. Whilst below, the wild, overgrown shrubs made it completely impossible to duck. Pidgeot began to use its instinct and Misty could feel him turn left, into more open woodland. Under normal circumstances, Misty would agree, however she could feel Pidgeot's speed dropping and those men would easily be able to catch them up on more open ground. "Pidgeot!" she yelled, just before Pidgeot had moved to far left to miss their opportunity, "we've got to try going straight! We won't lose them this way!" Although for a moment, the mighty bird Pokemon didn't trust Misty's order, he soon spread out his wings and elegantly made a dynamic turn towards the web of thorns.

With great skill, almost unseen by any Pokemon Pidgeot managed to continue to navigate his way through with barely a scratch. As the two men followed them inside, they were suffering badly as they stumbled into many horned branches. One fell very quickly as they became trapped amongst a network of branches and in his struggle to break free fell from his Fearow, breaking branches as he fell and disappeared into the unruly shrub land below. Misty looked back to see the other man stop and fly upwards out of the maze, as she followed him with her gaze she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. A large thorn dug a large scratch into her face and another into her upper arm, causing her to flinch and arch her body over Pidgeot for protection. Cautiously, she looked up to the skies, looking for that final Team Rocket grunt. _Where is he? _

Suddenly, that fiery determination that drove him disappeared. Pidgeot's vision became blurred. He had lost far too much blood. He began slowly to drift in and out of consciousness, and as he did he began to stumble into branches and lose some altitude.

"Pidgeot, Pidgeot!" Misty panicked, she desperately slung her arms around his neck to stop herself from falling as the bird Pokemon lost all of his consciousness and stumbled out through the maze into a small clearing ahead. He rolled with Misty still clinging on for dear life but when they stopped, she was no longer holding on. Her eyes were shut. Her breathing was slow. And at that moment, the grunt with his Fearow and their leader with his Skarmory landed proudly in the clearing.

They both dismounted their steeds and headed over to where the young woman laid defenceless. "Is she dead sir?" The grunt asked.

"No," his leader replied as he gazed at her weak body, "she's still breathing." As he turned back to his Skarmory, he shouted his orders. "Take the girl back to base."

"And the Pidgeot, sir?"

"Leave it here to die."

"But sir, they way it flew through here, if we could use that well I think we…"

"Don't you dare contradict me! I am you superior, you do as I say no questions asked, understand!" He interrupted, the rage was like that of an angry Primape. Ferocious and unquestionable.

"Yes sir!" He replied immediately as his leader sat back on his Pokemon's cold hard back, whilst he was left to pick up the girl. But before he could even get close enough to reach out and touch her, a powerful flamethrower appeared from the depth of the forest. The grunt just managed to duck the ferocious attack just before it burnt his flesh. Yet his Fearow was not so lucky, as it received his full might and collapsed to the floor severely weakened.

"Skarmory use air slash now!" Skarmory fired a powerful air slash into the woods, but they seemed to disappear into the darkness of the forest. _Did it hit? _

To the left, another flamethrower, this time at the time creating a mass wall of fire protecting Misty and Pidgeot from their grasp. A flash of red then passed by them, and they both suddenly disappeared.

"Damn it!" The leader yelled. "You!" He shouted, pointed at his subordinate, still laid cowering on the floor. "Get to the skies now, find them, find them both!"

"But sir… my Fearow got hit pretty bad…"

"Why are you still here get going?" He yelled furiously, the young grunt suddenly jumped to his feet and climbed on his Fearow's back, weakly he managed to take flight but he had lost a lot of his strength and speed.

Meanwhile, his commander tapped his ear piece. "Boss, someone or something else got involved. We were caught of guard and she got away."

"_She's lucky to have escaped your grip. Tell me, how did she escape?"_

"A Pokemon we think, most likely a fire type. He blocked us from her with a flamethrower then something fast came and took them away, sir. I already have one of my mend trying to track her down, I request that you send me some more men so we have a better chance of finding her, sir."

"_No, I have a better idea."_

_

* * *

_

Misty's eyes slowly woke, her vision blurred for a moment, but the near complete darkness nearly tricked her into thinking that she was still asleep. As her vision became more focused, she realised that she was inside a dark cave, with an Umbreon nearby providing an eerie light with the yellow rings on it's jet black body. As she tried to lift her head, the world around her began to spin. She covered her eyes to try and regain herself as she continued to sit upright. As she moved, she could feel the muscles in her back straining, the pain hit her in every movement, she bit her lip as she struggled on with her simple task.

"Don't try to get up, your still in bad shape." She stopped moving. The voice petrified her, but not because it was strange. It was because she heard it long ago. Slowly, she lowered her hand from eyes, and slowly she looked up at the shadowy figure standing before her.

"That's… that's impossible…" She stuttered. "You're dead!"

* * *

**Note to readers**

_**Hiya all, I am so sorry for the delay in this chapter had a lot of Uni work to do but most of it is out the way now so I've got a bit more time to write this story.**_

_**I am so thrilled with the amount of people who have added this story to their favourites, thank you so much I really appreciate and I hope you all keep reading. Please can you review this chapter, because I found the chase extremely difficult to write and I would like to know what you thought of it and perhaps give me hints on how I could improve it.**_

_**Thank you so much again and I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter!**_

_**beckyjo13xxx**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Where… where am I? _Ash stood gazed out at the room before him, but all he could see was metal. Metal floors, metal walls and a metal door with the tiniest slit allowing some dim light to enter the room. Ash, still dazed tried to walk over to the light, but something stopped him and knocked him to the ground. Weakly, he rose to his knees, he carefully turned his head being careful to avoid the pain he could feel in his back and neck, as he turned he could see the chains shackled around his ankles binding him to the wall behind him. In a daze he reached for his belt, but there was nothing there. _They must have taken them._ At that moment, he heard voices out in the corridor; getting closer and closer until they stopped right outside the door. Not wanting to appear weak, Ash rose onto his feet but he was still frail. His legs shook even as he sought for support from the wall behind him.

As he found his feet, the door creaked open with a horrible metallic sound, a man wearing a black Team Rocket Uniform held open the door, whilst another man in uniform entered the room. This man held Ash's eye as he beckoned the other man to leave with just a flick of his hand. His grey hair shimmered in the metallic light of the room; he seemed to be right at home. Then it struck Ash, that hair, the way he stood, the way he looked. He was the leader of the group who kidnapped him and attacked Misty!

"Hello, Ash." He spoke, his voice was sinister and almost joyous at his victorious capture.

"What have you done with Misty?"

"I must admit, we didn't expect you to send out that Pidgeot of yours to help Misty, but even a Pokemon as fast as that is no match for us."

"Let her go, now!"

"I don't think you are in a position to be making any threats, Ashy boy."

"Well then, why don't you let me have a fair fight."

"Haha and do you think we are that daft? We know all about you, Ash Ketchum. You are 20 years old, you are currently residing in Pallet Town and you have recently won both the Pokemon Leagues in Kanto and Sinnoh and have recently been offered a place to compete in the Kanto's Elite Championships. Your starter Pokemon was that little Pikachu of yours, you are romantically involved with Misty the Cerulean Gym Leader and you still have that childish dream to become a Pokemon Master."

"So, you know how to search the internet, big deal."

"Oh, I guess I failed to mention that recently you have felt depressed at the fact that all those you have travelled with have achieved their dreams whilst you still have yet to accomplish yours?"

"That's a load of rubbish!" Ash yelled in denial,

"Is that so? May has become a top Co-ordinator having won 5 grand festivals in a row, Dawn has also achieved her dream and won 3 grand festivals and is now training to become a Poke stylist. Tracy is now an experienced watcher and has achieved many awards for finding rare and undiscovered Pokemon, Brock is a world renowned Pokemon Doctor and not to mention your girlfriend, one of the strongest water type trainers in the world. Did I miss anyone?"

"Where's Misty?"

"Ah, trying to change the subject. There must be some truth in what I am saying then." Ash chose not to respond, instead he stared into the man's eyes, hoping his silence would intimidate him into talking. "You'll be pleased to know that that Pidgeot of yours is well trained, Misty just got away from us, but only just."

Ash breathed a sigh of relief for a moment and thanked God for her safety, but then something struck him as being odd. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Is honest not something your used to Ashy boy?"

"You want me for something, that's why I'm alive. I presume you were going to use Misty as leverage against me, so why tell me you don't have her?"

"Because that would be far too predictable and besides I don't want to waste my efforts going after her when perhaps I don't need to."

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to co-operate with us, or we chase after Misty and who knows how we bring her back."

"Well then you don't know Misty like I do, she's evaded you once and she will do it again. I have faith in her."

"You don't understand do you? We have spies placed all over Kanto, we can find her in a heartbeat, we can track her wherever she goes. If she escapes us once, we can try again the next day, and the day after that. How long do you think she can keep running from us?"

"You're bluffing"

"Oh, you think so?"

"Team Rocket disbanded 6 months ago, there is now way you could have grown so quickly in that time. Not to mention Giovanni is still in prison."

Slowly, and menacingly he walked over to Ash. Their faces were only a short distance apart, the commander new that Ash could easily hit him from where he was standing but none of that mattered. He knew he was too weak to hurt him too badly, and that he wanted to hear what he had to say. "We don't need Giovanni, they've got me." And with that he turned and walked forwards towards the door. Whilst doing so, he clicked his fingers and the door was opened by a man standing on the other side. The light nearly blinded Ash, forcing him to turn his eyes away. "Oh and by the way…" The commander stopped in the doorway and turned his body half way around. His voice caused Ash to squint as he looked back at him, a shadow in the light. "The name is Commander Frasier."

"Not a very terrifying name." Ash joked, hoping to bring Frasier down to earth.

"It doesn't need to be, actions speak louder than names, don't you think?" And with that, the door closed once again, shrouding Ash back in the darkness, and the darkness of his thoughts.

_**To all my readers,**_

_**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, it is just a filler to let you know what has happened to Ash. But I would really like to know what you guys think of Commander Frasier and also the story so far, because I would like to think that it just gets better from here!**_

_**Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed it**_

_**Beckyjo13xxx**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Misty gazed into the eyes of the tall, shadowy man standing before her. Although most of his face was in near darkness, the brilliant blue sparkle in his eyes still stood out, yet the sparkle had seemed to become diminished since last she saw him. They now seemed, colder, and older to, almost like he carried the entire world upon his shoulders. For a moment, happiness swept through her entire body, she wanted to leap up and hug her old friend and never let go. She remembered how devastated everybody was at his funeral, Ash and the Professor were both so full of grief they could barely stand up just to stay goodbye.

"Gary…" she muttered, her breath almost unable to sustain her words. "You're alive."

Gary stared down into her eyes, he was able to keep his eyes fixed upon hers, but he still felt the same of what he had done to her, to everybody he knew and loved. Deep down, he wanted to flee. _Get away while you still can! _He thought to himself, but there was something about her company, her presence that made him feel human again. He had been without real human contact for so long, that he had almost forgotten what it was like to feel shame, to feel human. It was almost refreshing, but it did not bring him any joy.

"Misty, what happened to Ash?" He asked sternly

Misty bluntly ignored the question and slowly rose to her feet, much to the surprise of Gary. _She has endured so much, yet she is able to stand on her own? _He watched, as she finally stood strong, her back was straight with her head held high. She reached out her hand and gently caressed Gary's cheek, almost as though trying to work out if this is a dream. Then suddenly, she woke up and viciously slapped Gary's cheek.

"How could you!" She yelled, tears beginning to flood from her eyes.

"I had no choice!" Gary argued, as he rubbed his throbbing cheek.

"What do you mean you had no choice, there is always a choice Gary!"

"You could never understand what I had to go through!"

"Oh, so what about us then? Isn't what we had to go through hard? Professor Oak thought he had lost his only grandson, and Ash thought he had lost his best and oldest friend. Both of them could barely stand at your funeral and you think you had a hard time, just hiding away in your little cave without a care in the world!" Misty paused for a second; her tears were no longer flowing now as they had been replaced with rage. She could see that Gary was about to speak, but she didn't want to hear excuses, she wanted answers. "Just answer me this." She interrupted, "Why did you do it?"

"Misty, I need to know this… what happened to Ash?"

Gary kept his gaze fixed upon her, he refused to be ignored a second time. This question was more important than anything right now. "Answer me Misty!" He yelled as the silence continued.

"He was taken, by Team Rocket."

"No… no he can't have been… no no no no!" Gary yelled in anger as he paced up and down the cave. "They beat me again!"

"Wait, you knew…" Misty paused for a moment, "You knew that Team Rocket were back?" Gary answered her question with silence. "Please tell me you didn't know that they were after Ash." Gary looked down at the floor, his eyes became tightly shut. It all became clear to mist now. "You did know!" Misty weakly began to pace, her head kept falling into her hands. "You could have stopped this, you could have warned us! But you didn't… why didn't you?" She yelled in anger.

"I had to be careful." Misty just stared at him in shock, "And the less you know about this the better."

"What do you mean? What do you know about them?"

"I know of them that's enough."

"So why did you disappear? Why didn't you tell someone?"

"Because anyone who knows anything disappears!" Misty stood in horror as Gary spoke, but all the emotion, all the caring attitude that he used to have just 4 short months ago. All of it was gone in an instant. "Now they are going to be after you, and they won't stop. They don't ever stop."

"They can't be that strong, Giovanni is still in Prison, they have always been hopeless without him. I'll just go to the gym get my pokemon and…"

"Go to your Gym?" Gary rudely interrupted, "Oh Misty they know who you are, you'd be walking into a trap! You have got to leave them behind!"

"Then how will I rescue Ash? Answer me that Gary!"

"You're not seriously considering going after him?"

"He's done it for me before, now it's my turn to repay the favour!" As Misty tried to step forward, her weakened leg suddenly caved in and she fell forward. Gary quickly rushed forward and caught her and gently picked her up and placed her back where she laid earlier, much to Misty's annoyance. "I don't have time for this…" she argued weakly, "I have to go after Ash."

"Your too weak to do anything right now, just let me feed you, get some sleep and we'll work something out tomorrow. Ok?"

"But the longer we wait the less chance we'll have of finding him!"

"We'll find him! But it will take far too long with you in such a bad state, we need to give you and Pidgeot a chance to recover."

"Pidgeot…" All of a sudden, images of what had happened to Pidgeot had come rushing back to her, the thunder attack, the claws in Pidgeot's back, all that blood. "I can't believe I nearly forgot about him, after what he did for me. How is he?"

"He'll be alright with rest; he's made of strong stuff."

"Thank goodness."

"Now, will you please rest?" Gary pleaded, although Misty could tell that there was some annoyance in his voice.

"I can't. You must understand, Gary. I can't forgive myself for what happened, I feel responsible for Ash going missing and if I don't help find him soon… I don't know what I'd do."

Gary slowly knelt down so that his eyes met with hers. Her eyes were soft yet cold, as though there was some horrible guilt hidden away inside herself. _But why? _He puzzled, _it wasn't her fault? She can't genuinely think it was? Can she? _Gary looked away for a moment from her hypnotically beautiful eyes, but slowly he was drawn back to them. This time, there was something more that he could see, a fiery determination, something which he recognised in himself. "I can't get you to change your mind?"

Normally, Misty would have smiled happily at getting the famous Gary Oak to change his stubborn mind, but not this time. There was far too much at stake, and she definitely was not in the mood to smile. Solemnly, she nodded once.

"Ok." Gary stood up, whilst Misty watched leant with her back against a rock for support. Gary reached into his pocket and pulled out two small Pokeballs from his belt. Skillfully, he expanded them both with one hand and quickly placed them so that one was in each hand and threw them into the air. "Arcanine and Staraptor, I need your help!"

From a light which nearly blinded Misty in this darkness, emerged a powerful Staraptor who spread it's large wings out and squawked loudly showing it's presence. Whilst the Arcanine sat proudly and did not speak a word, showing it's loyalty and elegance. Misty looked at the Arcanine in amazement. "It's… huge… bigger than any Arcanine that I have ever seen."

"Yes, this Arcanine has been with me for a long time. He has definitely grown since I found him as a little Growlithe." As he spoke such praise of his old friend, Gary approached him confidently and reached out with his hand and friendly stroked his hand across the top of his head. In response to this, Arcanine nuzzled his nose closer to Gary. _He's just like a big puppy. _Misty thought to herself, as she smiled at the pair. "He was the one who found you in the woods and brought you back here."

"What?"

"Arcanine was out scavenging in the woods and he heard a commotion so he ran to your aid and carried the pair of you back on his back."

"Wow… that's incredible." Misty stared at the Arcanine, completely dumbfounded by what she had just heard. She suddenly remembered her manors and quickly snapped out of her daydream, "thank you Arcanine."

Arcanine looked lovingly at Misty and happily walked over to her, he gently pressed his face against her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss. Misty giggled and held his head in her arms.

"Alright Arcanine," Gary interrupted, "You both have a job to do. Arcanine go back to where you rescued Misty and try to find their scent. Staraptor you follow him in the air and see if you can spot anything from there. When you find a trail, one of you come back and let us know" Both of his pokemon nodded and headed out of the cave with great haste.

Misty, in all the enthusiasm, tried to stand and follow them. "Well aren't we going after them!" But as she stood, she suddenly began to fall, and was only saved by the quick footwork of Gary who rushed back to her aid.

"Misty we are staying here."

"But…"

"Misty! I agreed to help you but we are doing it on my terms do you understand me?"

Misty looked down at the dim floor. She knew she had no choice, in this state she could hardly move 3 feet yet alone vast differences. For now, she had to listen to him. "I guess."

"Alright, first we should eat something."

"Gary… I really don't think that I can…"

"I'm sorry but you have no choice in the matter. The longer you don't eat, the longer you are just going to stay in this cave."

Misty sat, watching him as he began building a fire, with his Umbreon sat by his side. Gary had changed so much since she knew him, he used to be so arrogant, which was something which she had always hated about him. But he changed as he began his journey to become a researcher, yes he was still arrogant but there was also an incredible kindness. Misty could remember Ash telling her about when he helped him train his Gligar, and how he hadn't lost any of his old habits yet he had gained so many new much nicer qualities. Now, it seemed like it had all gone. The kindness in his voice seemed to disappear and suddenly he was back to his old ways, except now he was even colder than before. All of this seemed to take all the warmth and love out of him, which was the only reason why Misty began to like him again after all those years of watching him upset Ash. _I miss him_ she caught herself thinking.

With a lighter, Gary lit the kindle and a small red flame began to radiate the cave and provide a flickering light for the pair, dimming the light from Umbreon's glowing body. Misty began to become mesmerised by the dancing flame, as she watched she felt her eyes becoming heavier and heavier and slowly she drifted off into a peaceful dream.

"Misty." Misty stirred as she heard a voice calling her, a very familiar voice. Slowly, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. She rubbed her hand against the back of her neck… _It's not hurting. _Surprised she sat up. "Nice to see your getting better." The voice spoke again, but it wasn't Gary. Misty tried to make out the vision before her, but when she heard the little cry of Pikachu, she instantly knew.

"Ash…" She whispered

"Yeah it's me."

"I thought you had been…"

"I have. This is just a dream Misty."

"Misty!" Gary shouted. Misty almost jumped out of her skin as his voice rang through her ears. Weakly she raised her head, and as she opened her eyes the dark blurry figure became more focused. Gary was kneeling by her side, with two considerably large bowls of fresh, beautifully scented soup in his hand. "Sorry to wake you."

"Its ok… you cooked?"

"Is that so surprising?"

"No no, not at all… It's more like worry."

"Well at least that knock on your head didn't get rid of your sense of humour" Gary jested.

"Who said I was joking?" Gary just looked as Misty sat up, stunned by what she had just said, but as Misty smiled his stern face disappeared and without even thinking he smiled back at her.

"I'll let you know I've become a very good chef since I've been out here."

"Well, obviously I mean soup is definitely the biggest culinary challenge to ever face us today." Misty smugly took the bowl of soup and took a sip, and suddenly she found herself eating her words. The chicken was fresh and beautifully cooked, completely lightening her spirits. "Actually… this is beautiful."

"What did I tell you, you should listen to me more often"

"Yes well, it is only soup."

"Well maybe later if you're lucky I'll make you a roast dinner, will that impress you?"

"You will impress me when we find Ash." The mood suddenly grew cold, Misty stared into her bowl, the thought of eating this when Ash could be in physical pain made her feel sick. Whilst Gary looked solemnly at her, he desperately wanted to console her, make her feel better, put a smile back onto her face.

Gently, he placed his hand upon her shoulder. It had been such a long time since he had any human contact, it felt nice but at awkward at the same time. Shakily he took his hand away, tried to hide his guilt and went back to drinking his soup.

"You never told me."

"Told you what?"

"What happened to you?" Gary's heart skipped a beat, he had tried so hard not to think about that day. A part of him knew that him being alone meant that there would be no one to reminisce about his past. He wanted to keep quiet, but how could he? It was just him and her now, how could he not reveal such an important part of his life to someone who he knew would be spending a lot of time with him in the future. _The sooner I tell her, the sooner it can be forgotten. _

"As you know 6 months, I was working with Professor Green an expert in myths surrounding the legendary bird Pokemon."

"Of course"

"Well about 5 months ago we made an incredible discovery, we found some small ruins hidden right at the base of Mount Moon depicting another myth about the birds. We kept these ruins as secret as possible, only myself and the professor knew of its very existence."

"What was the myth?"

"We… never found out. The language was like nothing we had ever seen, almost impossible for us to decipher."

"What does this have to do with you disappearing?"

"Team Rocket somehow found out about it, and they forced us to decipher the message for them."

"But Giovanni was in prison… he still is in prison, Team rocket shouldn't even exist anymore."

"They have a new leader now."

"Who?"

"I don't know, whenever they mentioned him they never referred to him by his name."

"And did you decipher the message?"

"No, we couldn't. But…" Gary began to choke upon his words, his eyes became blurry with the threat of tears breaking out.

"Gary? What happened?" Misty said softly.

"They… took us to the nearby river and tied us up…"

"Please no…" Misty gasped in pure horror, tears flooded her eyes.

"When we refused… they pushed the Professor into the lake… I managed to break free from their grip and go in after him… but I just couldn't do anything, I couldn't move, thankfully my Blastoise knew I was in trouble and helped me get to a river bank far away from them. But there was so sign of the professor."

"I am so sorry, Gary…"

"Yeah… me to."

"I can't believe they killed him…"

"I know."

"Are you ok?"

"What?"

"Are you ok, Gary?" Misty asked again as she saw the look of bemusement and utter shock on his face. "It must have been hard, dealing with this alone." Misty suddenly felt herself letting off a yawn, her eyes were drooping, so she sipped some more soup to try and refresh her senses.

It had been a long time since Gary had received sympathy from anyone, it was something that he had definitely missed. Not only that, but he had missed the smile of a beautiful woman, the hug of a friend, the highs and lows of being surrounded by friends and family. All he had now were his Pokemon, and although he loved them, they could never replace them.

"You know… I have been alone for most of my life, and I have never felt more alone than I have done these past months. Now even. I suppose before I always had the option to visit a friend, or call my grandfather. Just to talk, then I was always engrossed in my work which I loved. But now, I have nothing. I don't exist in this world anymore, all because I had to hide. Hide my face from the world to keep myself alive."

"Well your not alone anymore. I promise you Gary I am going to help you bring down Team Rocket, and we are going to get Ash back and we are going to stop them, once and for all. Then you won't have to hide anymore." Misty suddenly found herself feeling much, much weaker, she began to fall back onto the rock quite slowly. _What's happening to me?_

"No, I am sorry Misty, but I can't let you get involved in this."

"Gary…" Misty murmured weakly, "What… what have you done?" Misty tried to sit back up, but she found herself suddenly falling backwards. Gary quickly dropped his soup and rushed to her, he caught her and laid her back down gently, resisting her fighting.

"I can't risk anyone else getting hurt because of me." Gary said guiltily, "I put some sedative into your soup. You should be out for about a day."

"You drugged me?" Misty yelled angrily with what little strength she had. "You drugged me!"

"I also added some strong drugs in there to help take away the pain,"

"And that makes it better!"

"Well your going to be out soon, so at least I won't have to listen to you complain."

"You… you" Misty desperately tried to speak, but she found her speech slurred and almost completely incomprehensible. "Youuu… are a compleeete… ammmd utter…" Misty's strength disappeared.

_To be continued…_

**Dear Readers**

** I must apologise for the lateness of this next chapter, but I have been swamped quite recently with Uni work and it's only now that its starting to let up a bit so I can concentrate on writing this again. This chapter is really just a bit of a filler about what happened to Gary in the past, but it I hope you can see the difference in Gary compared to how he is in the anime. I kind of wanted to make him a little bit socially awkward, as he has been on his own for so long, but I did not want that to be the main focus so I ended up having to tone it down a bit, and instead I placed more emphasis on his need to be right than anything else.**

** Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I shall try to update it as soon as possible.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A simmering fire still flickered in the dim cave. Gary sat across from it, the orange light from the flame reflected on his face, reflecting the sorrow and loneliness in his heart. He sat with his knees to his chest and his eyes drawn to the sleeping girl in the corner. He darned not go nearer, for fear of waking her and having to fight with her once again. His beloved Umbreon could sense the turmoil in his mind and slowly walked over to him and sat by his side. Inquisitively, he looked in to his master's eyes.

"What would you have me do?" He spoke quietly, "I did it to protect her… I know I shouldn't have but it was the only way." In a manner of disbelief, Umbreon continued to stare. Gary and Umbreon have been together for many years, and their bond was strong. So strong it was difficult to escape from, especially when one knew that the other had wronged. "I know what you're thinking, but I did the right thing. I'd do it again." With that Gary rose and walked over to where Misty rested. Umbreon just followed with his eyes as Gary stood over the lonely girl. Even from behind, Umbreon could see the pain and the conflict that swelled in his master's eyes. The sorrow and the loneliness. The kindness and the boldness. Gary knelt by her side and gently placed his hand upon her fiery head. "I'll make it up to you, I'll find Ash and bring him back to you. I promise you." He whispered. As he began to lower his head, a rustling sound caught his attention. He quickly turned his head, as though ready to fight, but he relaxed when he saw the shadow of a friendlier face, his beloved Arcanine.

Happily, he stood and went over to greet his friend by stroking his soft head; Arcanine smiled at this and began to nuzzle his friend. "Did you find anything my friend?" Gary asked. Arcanine's mood suddenly dropped as he shook his head and looked solemnly at the ground beneath him. "It's ok, go lay down for a while." Without hesitation, Arcanine moved over to where Umbreon sat and lay down by his side. Whilst Gary looked back at Misty with disappointment and fear in his eyes. _I made a promise to you Misty, I will bring him back. No matter what it takes._ "Umrbeon, come with me." Umbreon swiftly jumped to his master's side. "Arcanine I'm going to trust you to keep an eye on Misty for me. If anything goes wrong, you know what to do." Arcanine rose his head keenly and nodded. As Gary stepped into the sunlight, he whistled. A shadow quickly emerged over him and his Staraptor made a swift and graceful landing in front of him. Gary and Umbreon quickly jumped on his back. "I won't be gone long," he shouted back at his Arcanine, "Just make sure she doesn't leave while were gone!" Arcanine barked, indicating that he understood his orders. Gary then nodded and looked back at his magnificent Staraptor. "Come one Staraptor, lets go." The massive bird spread it's incredible wings and with just one push of it's might body, took off into the air and flew at great speed into the distance.

_And I promise you Ash, Team Rocket will regret the day that they messed with us._

_To be continued_

**Dear Readers**

**I am sorry for the length of this chapter, but it did just need a filler before the next chapter which I promise will be miles better and will also have some great fight scenes in! I will also be introducing another character! Now it may be an old one, or it could be a new one but I am not going to tell you so you have to wait and read my next chapter to find out! One thing I will tell you though, is that this character will experience some turmoil as well… What do you guys think? Review and let me know!**

**beckyjo13xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Dear Readers**

**I apologise for the lateness of this chapter, unfortunately my laptop completely broke and I lost everything for this story so I had to get back to my planning just so I knew what was happening. Also I would like to say thank you to all my readers who have left such positive reviews, I didn't really expect much feedback from this story so it was an extremely pleasant surprise. Anyway I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I am sorry again for the long wait, and I hope that this chapter meets all your expectations!**

A bright light shone into Misty's eyes. All she could see was a brilliant white. Slowly, her eyes began to adjust, and she could see the sun rising through the trees and shining it's brilliance into the cave where she had spent so long hiding. Or was it long? She had no idea, but she knew that whatever time had passed it had been too long for Ash. Slowly, she sat up, her head still spinning slightly from the drugs and slowly looked around her to gain a better perspective of her surroundings, and what she could see was two pills on a piece of paper with a small message.

"Please take these; they will help with the pain." Misty immediately turned her nose up at them, _like I'm going to do what you say now;_ _I can't believe he drugged me!_ As she clambered to her feet, she could see a familiar friend snoozing in the corner, Arcanine. His eyes shielded from the light by his paws. _He's left me with his guard dog then. _Misty stopped to think for a moment, Gary was no longer going to let her search for Ash, so in order to find him and redeem herself she was going to have to go without him, but to do that she would need help.

Weakly she turned around. There she spotted something which she hadn't noticed in her time here, a small chamber, but past the entrance she could see a darkened figure. A large darkened figure. Hopeful, she made her way towards the entrance and as she got closer everything became clearer. It was Ash's Pidgeot, awake and looking strong. "Pidgeot." She whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping guard dog. "How are you feeling?" Pidgeot proudly rose it's head and spread it's wing showing its tremendous wing span. "You think you can take me back home?" Pidgeot nodded. "Good, then let's get moving."

* * *

Ash stood chained against the wall, his head drooping from exhaustion. He could not tell how long he had been trapped in his steel cell, for no light from the outside world could enter it. He could still hear though, every now and again he could hear the pacing of feet outside his door. But with every step brought a sense of panic, for he waited his cell door to open and for them to bring him news of Misty's capture, or worse; her death. It was not just her life that he feared to lose, but also his own.

Click, clack. Once again he could hear the sound of heels, but they seemed quite far away, possibly just an echo. Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack. It was no longer an echo; the pair of legs had reached the outside of his door. Weakly, he lifted his head as the heavy door creaked open, letting in an almost blinding light into his darkened cell. He winced away, trying to give his eyes a chance to adjust to the light, but as the door slowly began to close, he turned back and the shadow of a man that was before him turned into a foggy image "Frasier." He muttered.

"Nice to see you again Ash Ketchum, how are you enjoying your stay?"

"It would be nicer if I wasn't chained to a wall."

"Well unfortunately there is nothing I can do about."

"Oh, and I thought that you were in charge Commander?"

"I'm afraid I take my orders from a higher authority."

"Well then you are not the man I thought you were, Frasier."

"Haha well then I shall have to work even harder to prove to you how important my role in this organisation."

"And what role would that be?"

"Bringing our enemies to justice, and keeping our organisation a secret."

"Oh is that all?"

"Well a simple man like you would never understand the complexities of our organisation. I suppose right now you want me to yell and be angry with you? Perhaps set you free from those chains so that I can beat you up?"

Ash remained silent, the original smugness in his smile suddenly disappeared. Ash did hope that he would at least remove the chains from his arms, for the pain rushing through them was intolerable.

"I shall take that silence as a yes shall I?" Frasier smugly spoke. "You know Ash, I had high hopes for you. Many of my colleagues told me that you were a formidable opponent. That is why we sent out such a large task force just to catch you, yet you seem to have lost your touch. Why is that do you think?"

"I think anyone outnumbered as I was would have a hard time don't you think?"

"But, if I remember correctly you and that little Pikachu of yours hardly put up a fight."

"Where is he, Frasier?"

"Oh I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for later. What I want to know is why you failed to put up more of a fight, you had more Pokemon with you, you could have easily fought harder. Maybe you could have got away, so why didn't you?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil your precious victory. It will be your last one I assure you."

"I suppose it must have been because you were distracted by protecting your precious girlfriend."

"You leave her out of his!"

"I believe I have hit the nail on the head."

"Frasier I swear to God if you hurt her!"

"You will what? Spit on me?" Frasier jested.

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." Ash said with anger raging in his eyes.

"Well we will find out soon enough, won't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I take it I failed to mention that we have found where she has been hiding, and we are now tracking her. It won't be long till we have her in our custody." And with that, Frasier left Ash speechless as he opened the door and left him alone with his fearful thoughts.

* * *

Arcanine slowly turned his eyes into the bright sunlight, causing him to awaken from his slumbers. Groggily, he rose to his paws and shook his body causing his lengthy fur to shake with him. Arcanine then sat down and looked out amongst the beautiful morning sun and basked in its warmth. As he basked, a large shadow crept up behind him. A shadow which quickly blocked the sunlight from his face, but before Arcanine could react, it had sprung in front of him and taken to the skies. Arcanine quickly stood and began to chase the massive Pidgeot, desperately hoping that the figure on its back was just a trick of the mind, and not who he thought it was. But as they climbed higher, it soon became apparent that Misty was awake, and had escaped his care. As he continued to chase, Gary's voice rang through his mind. _If she causes trouble, you know what to do. _And with that, he quickly changed direction and headed to the one person he knew could help.

* * *

Pidgeot flew with a great purpose over Mount Moon. The morning breeze blew through Misty's hair as she gazed out upon the beautiful city that rested below. Cerulean City; f_inally, _she thought to herself as she breathed a huge sigh of relief_ feels like I've been away for months._ Gently, she leaned forward as Pidgeot glided lower towards the ground.

"Pidgeot circle the Gym before we land, we better make sure it's clear."

Pidgeot nodded and gradually began to circle the area around the gym. Misty vigilantly shifted her gaze, constantly looking left and right, but all she could see were shrubs and grass. She took her head in disbelief, _I can't believe I've let Gary get me this paranoid. _"Pidgeot lets just land, I don't think anybody is there."Pidgeot gracefully landed in front of the entrance to the gym, yet as Misty clambered of his back, the corner of her eye noticed a slight stumble from Pidgeot as he cringed from the sudden pain in his back. _Obviously he's not as Ok as I thought... I'm sorry Pidgeot I should have paid more attention to you. _"Pidgeot, why don't you head out and rest for a bit. I should be ok here."

Pidgeot just stared back at Misty, his eyes looked almost sad at the thought of leaving her here alone. "Don't worry about me, just head to the lake. I'll meet you there in about an hour ok?" Misty spoke as reassuringly as she could. She already felt guilty for putting this Pokemon through so much and getting Ash into so much trouble, she knew that this wouldn't make up for it but it was a start. And as Pidgeot reluctantly flew away, Misty turned and ran into the gym, her heart pounding as she now knew that she was finally taking the first steps towards saving Ash.

"Boss..." A shadowy man dressed in black emerged from the trees surrounding the gym, his mobile pressed against his ear as he evilly grinned with the news he was about to deliver. "She's here, just like we thought."

_To be continued_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Here is chapter 8! I did promise action in chapter 7 and I do apologise that there wasn't that much, but as I was writing I figured it was too long, so this is technically Chapter 7.2. Anyways hopefully now I will be able to more regularly update this story because I have now completed my first year of Uni and have a good three months of freedom before I have to go back! Woohoo! Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope that you all keep supporting me, I really appreciate it :D**

Gary swiftly jumped from the back of his mighty Staraptor as he landed back at the entrance of the cave. As he looked into the cave from the entrance, he failed to see any shadows or movement. Cautiously, he entered scanning the room. The remains of the fire that he had built still remained, but the warmth had faded. As Gary looked back into the distant depths of the cave, he knew that his Arcanine was no longer here. His red fur always stood out in the darkness, and if Arcanine had gone, that meant that Misty had run off to. He looked back at his Staraptor whom had perched proudly at the entrance with his beloved Umbreon at his side. "She's gone to the gym." Gary quickly jumped up and ran back to his Staraptor. "We have to hurry, Team Rocket are probably already there." He spoke quickly as both himself and Umbreon jumped back onto Staraptors back. Without another order from Gary, Staraptor spread out its incredible wings and ran forward, as his wings moved up powerful gusts of wings shook the branches and bushes around him. Finally, with an enormous amount of power, his wings lifted him off the ground with what appeared to be little effort and with impressive speed he flew north, heading straight for the Cerulean Gym.

As they flew through the sky, Gary looked at the ground below. At first he thought his eyes might have been deceiving him, but he quickly realised that he was being followed. As he watched the ground below, he saw the trees and bushes below rustle, as though there was an earthquake, but in one specific path. In between the trees, he could see black flashes of machines. Horrible, cold black trucks. "Staraptor fly higher!" In a desperate attempt to escape from, Staraptor uses his strength to fly higher, the misty clouds would hopefully cover them so they could give them the slip. But Gary knew that this was a long shot, if they knew where he was going, they would simply just cut him off there. Hopefully though, they may be able to beat them to the punch.

As Staraptor slowly began to climb higher, Gary could feel the strain in his Pokemon's muscles. Gary quickly changed his gaze to the trucks below, but what he saw struck them all. A strong electric attack, forcing all their muscles to forcibly expand and contract uncontrollably, his Staraptor began to hurtle towards the ground spinning violently as he fell. Gary's body rapidly found itself apart from his mount; the electrical surge seemed to disappear from his body but he could still the see the pulse surging through Staraptor's and Umbreon's body. Both of them cried out in horrible shrieks of pain. His brain found it difficult to function, everything seemed disconnected from him. As his fell, he was unable to control the spinning of his own body with the strong wind that blew against his chest. His body turned almost a full 360 degrees, a part of him believed it was so that he could see his own destruction below him. The ground looked green and lush, let he could already sense the stinging pain that it would bring to him if he hit it full force. Then he saw the trucks, the trucks that he saw when himself and his colleague and friend Professor Green were ruthlessly taken away from their work and their families. When he was murdered. Suddenly, life snapped back into Gary. His muscles began to react to his thoughts, his wishes. He finally felt in control of his own mind, and he knew that he was not going to let his struggle end here. Not without a fight.

"Umbreon use protect!" He yelled at the top of his voice.

His bond with Umbreon was strong, not only could he feel the pain that this monstrous attack was putting him through, but he could also feel the determination to carry out his order. With that, the rings on his body began to glow, a bright green aura emerged from it dispersing the electricity around it. The shining light protected both Umbreon and Staraptor, giving them both a chance to regain some of their lost strength. Staraptor took immediate advantage and dived underneath Gary and with great acrobatic skill, he landed on the light above them. The thunder still tried to break through the light, but it was effortlessly deflected, causing the electricity to surge upwards, surround Gary in an intense amount of power.

In a great ball of electricity they all landed safely on the ground. A brilliant flash of yellow light blinded their enemies for long enough to end the bombardment of thunder upon them. As the light quickly faded, Gary stood tall and proud with his Umbreon and Staraptor both stood nobly by his side. "Well were here!" Gary shouted cockily.

"You know Gary, I must say that I am impressed by you." A voice called out in the distance, hiding behind his strong Electivire and a collection of other Pokemon and their Team Rocket trainers. One Skarmory in particular caught the very keen eye of Staraptor, showing his eagerness to battle Staraptor snarled and spread out his wings as a sign of his strength, to which the Skarmory rudely turned his head. "You have eluded us for quite a long time, we were close to assuming that you were actually dead."

"I nearly was thanks to you, Frasier." Gary tried to find the man behind the voice. He had met him before, he was the one who sent the Professor to his grave. Gary so desperately sought his revenge, maybe now was his chance, if only he could see him. "Why don't you come out Frasier? Or are you scared of ghosts now?"

"Why would I be afraid of something which does not exist?"

"I exist, you scared of me?"

"Oh Gary, you always were full of yourself weren't you, even when you were a boy. How old are you now, 20?"

"You know exactly how old I am, Frasier, like how you know everything about me."

"Ok so I know your 24, but you know how much I like to play these little guessing games with you."

"And I know how they end to, a game's never any fun if you know how it's going to end. I hope you'll give me a chance to change things up a bit."

"Only if you give me something in return; such the translations of those engravings we saw so long ago."

With that, Gary let out a chuckle and a sly grin. _Those fools still haven't translated them, I figured that they would have solved it by now, guess I gave them more credit than was due. _"You think I was able to crack it? I suppose I should thank you for the compliment."

"No more wise cracks! Did you translate it?"

"No. Even if I had, I wouldn't tell cowards who hide behind their soldiers and Pokemon."

"Very well, I had hoped to avoid this Gary but you leave me no choice." As he spoke, his shadow began to appear to the left of his Electivire. But as soon as he started to emerge, Gary and Umbreon could tell that something was wrong. The shape... he wasn't alone.

"Misty!" Gary yelled as Frasier literally dragged her into the light, his smug grin enraged Gary further. "What have you done, Frasier!" As he spoke, his Umbreon and Staraptor both cried out, as though in Misty's defence.

"Let's just say that she lost her fight, now it's your turn Gary." As he spoke, Umbreon received a look from Gary, with a very subtle nod. As Gary turned back to face his enemy, Umbreon began to use Psychic to move Misty away from them. Slowly, Umbreon picked her up ready to speedily move her back to Gary. As she was gently lifted, Gary got a brief look at the state she was in. Her body seemed to be covered in bruises and cuts, her eyes were barely open. _Misty... what did they do to you? _But before Umbreon even had a chance to carry Misty to safety, Frasier's Skarmory jumped on top of her and dug his cold metal claws into both her shoulders, but much more deeply into the left. The pain coursing through Misty's shoulders awakened her body and she began to cry out in unimaginable pain. Gary could see the blood trickling down her left shoulder, staining her beautiful blue top in red.

"Let her go Frasier your battle is with me!"

"Oh, but this way the odds are so much more in my favour, now tell me what do the engravings mean?" Gary hestitated, his heart wanted to tell them everything with the slim possibility that they would let Misty go safely, but he knew that if he told them it could have vital consequences for all of their futures. _Die now, or live to fight another day. But we may not win if they get the information they want. _As Gary frustrated tried to think of a solution for this serious dilemma, he failed to notice Frasier's growing annoyance to his silence. "Skarmory raise the stakes!" Gary looked on the scene horrified as the dominant Skarmory screeched out a terrible roar and with a single flap of his wings he flew several feet into the air still, still gripping strongly onto Misty. Gary so badly wanted to look away as Misty cried out in horrific pain, but something unknown compelled him to watch helplessly, almost though he was being hypnotised. "Last chance Gary!" Frasier's cry awakened Gary from his trance, "Tell us what the engravings mean or Misty will suffer from a terrible fall."

"Gary..." Gary looked up, his eyes drawn to the , "Please... help me... Gary..." The blood continued to trickle down her shoulder as she began to plead for help. Gary's heart pounded painfully against his chest, his legs began to tremble and his mind turned back to mush. _There's...nothing left. _A part of Gary wanted to turn and walk away, like nothing had ever happened and call Frasier's bluff. A much stronger part of him knew that this was no bluff, Frasier purposely raised the stakes to prove that. The fact that Misty would survive the fall was even worse, because he would simply do it again and again until Gary finally unveiled the secrets of those ruins, which could lead to thousands more painful deaths. _Save one, or save many. Save thousands of lives I don't even know, or save someone I truly care about._

"Tick... tock... tick... tock. Time's ticking Gary, Skarmory!" Skarmory screeched as his right claw released her shoulder, leaving her dangle from his last grip.

"No!" Gary yelled, his arm outstretched.

"Well then tell me what the engravings mean!"

_This is it, I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell him what I've been trying for so long to protect. All to save Misty... I hate to ask myself this but is she really worth it? I could save so many people by keeping this information a secret... so am I really willing to risk it all for her?_

"Time's up Gary!"

Before Gary had a chance to return from his thoughts, the steel claw that had ripped through the muscle in Misty's arm was released. The blood trickled down from his claw as Misty hurtled to the ground. Frozen, Gary watched. His Pokemon looked on, as their master did. _Misty... I'm so sorry._

_To be continued..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Pidgeot!" Gary could hardly believe his eyes; a stream of almost blinding white light appeared in front of him, catching Misty just before she hit the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief as the magnificent Pidgeot circled the sky above, with a weakened Misty collapsed onto his back.

For a moment, Frasier to looked shocked at this birds sudden appearance, but that quickly passed as he clicked his fingers and his Electivire stepped forward. His hands and his two long tails attached to his bulky head began to spark with powerful jolts of electricity. All of which appeared to focus into one ball of energy between his hands. "Fire." Frasier said calmly, with no remorse or doubt. And with one single movement, Electivire unleashed his powerful thunder attack straight at Pidgeot, who was still within range.

Gary looked on in anger, wishing that Pidgeot could fly that little bit faster, for right now if he did anything he knew that the rest of the Team Rocket grunts would surely strike him down. Angrily, he turned his gaze towards Frasier, but spotted something peculiar. Tucked away in his belt were 4 pokeballs, each with a familiar symbol. The Cascade Badge, a gentle blue water drop against the white of the pokeball. _He stole some of her Pokemon! _Suddenly, just as the electric attack was about to strike, the ground shook violently, as if a powerful earthquake had just been unleashed upon them. Electivire fell to the ground, completely changing the direction of his attack to up into the sky. Gary dropped to his knees, grabbing a hold of his Umbreon whilst his Staraptor flew into the air, only to be knocked down again by a fierce air slash attack from Skarmory.

Gary only heard the sound of the crash, but it was enough to understand the fierceness of that Pokemon. Gary quickly returned his friend into his Pokeball, there was no more he could do for him after an attack of such power. As Gary looked up, he saw something which struck fear into his eyes, Skarmory charging for a powerful hyper beam attack._ I can't believe it... they succeeded! _Gary thought himself, his legs paralyzed because of the vicious earthquake trembling beneath his feet.

"I am sorry Gary," Frasier bragged as he unsteadily rose back from his feet. "Although your dear friend got away, she will be found, and you will be unable to protect her anymore. Not that you did very well in the first place. Now Skarmory, do your worst, courtesy of your very own research Gary, so thank you."

Gary's face cringed with anger, his heart pounded, sweat dripped rapidly from his brow. There was nothing left, any Pokemon he called out would be hit, and Umbreon was too weak to use any move, even protect. He had tried to stop them, and he had failed. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, finally accepting defeat. Skarmory finally unleashed that incredible amount of stored energy. The earthquake which was occurring was made far worse by this single attack, the thunderous noise, the smoke, the flying debris. Team Rocket ducked in fear for their own lives, but not Frasier, as the dust stormed by him, he stood strong and steady, with his arms crossed and his mouth grinning widely. "It's finally over." He muttered smugly to himself.

Eventually the smoke cleared, and Frasier's face was no longer smiling. There was a gigantic crater in the ground, which did not surprise him. What did was the lack of a body. Cautiously he scanned the field; all of his men had cowered shamefully and would not have seen if he had run, and as there was no body in sight. He must have slipped his grasp once again. "You cowards, you fools!" He shouted, filled with rage, "Your cowardly actions let him get away you morons, find him, find him now, and when you do don't you dare kill him that responsibility is mine and mine alone!"

_To be continued..._

**Note to readers**

**Right sorry for how long this chapter took, but to be honest I had quite a few ways in which I thought that this could do and I ended up rewriting it so many times I ended up hating it. In the end I decided to go for something a bit simpler but it meant cutting down the length a bit, sorry and hopefully there will be a new chapter soon! Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Misty's eyes awoke, but for a moment she felt like she was still asleep. Everything around her was shrouded in darkness. Slowly, she began to sit up, but as she did a sharp pain coursed through her left shoulder. She clutched at it with her other hand, and was surprised to see it wrapped up in bandages. '_What... what happened?' _Her attention was then drawn to a noise... footsteps. She could hear feet clicking against the rocky ground. Scared and shaking, she stood up, still clutching at her throbbing shoulder.

"Who's there?" She quietly asked the shadows.

Silence followed for a while, but the sound continued to get louder.

"Who's there?" Bravely, she yelled out, hoping that the fear in her voice would not become evident.

"It's just me," A sigh of relief coursed through her as she recognised the voice of her old friend Gary. "I didn't mean to scare you." He said kindly as he emerged with a large torch shining a bright beam of light in front of him.

"Yeah well you did!"

"Sorry." Gary said, embarrassed but also slightly scared of Misty's renowned temper. "How are you feeling?"

As Misty looked back into her wound, she tried to remember what had happened, but it still felt like a blur. "It... it hurts, but... I don't know why." Misty's blue eyes looked to Gary's deep brown eyes. Her expression was filled with sadness and fear. Gary wanted to reach out and hold her, but he restrained himself. Now was not the time for him to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Team Rocket captured you. They used you to try and get information out of me." Gary looked away in shame as he said it. _This is what I had always feared... _

"They did this to me..." Misty's mind began to stir, her foggy memory slowly began to clear. "I went to the gym... but they were already there. His Magmortar... it was so powerful even against my Gyarados... my pokemon. Gary they got my Pokemon!"

"I know, I saw them... I couldn't get them back." Gary's heart began to sink even further into himself.

Misty's heart also sank. She had vowed to protect all of her Pokemon from harm, she had failed them. Not only that, she had failed the man she loved.

"I am sorry... I promise you though..." Misty looked up as she felt his warm gentle hand comfortingly touch her shoulder. She looked deep into his eyes, although the darkness shaded them she could feel something powerful emanating from them, almost like hope. "I will keep you safe." Misty's eyes stretched wider in shock.

"Keep me safe? What about Ash? What are you going to do to keep him safe, Gary?" She shouted violently as she pushed his hand away with some considerable force. "You have been hiding away like a coward for so long I bet you have forgotten how to fight. I bet you don't even want to find him, you just want to stay here and hide in your little hole!"

"I tried to warn you Misty, I tried to protect you, but you never listen! You are so driven by your stubbornness that you fail to see that your actions have consequences!"

"At least I'm trying to do something! What are you doing?"

"I saved your life!"

"That's not enough!"

Gary, stunned by her arrogance, almost burst into laughter. "So you would have preferred it if I just left you there to die?"

"You didn't do anything anyway, it was your Arcanine. He did all the work!"

"I healed you, don't think Arcanine could have done that do you?"

"Don't think he could have drugged me either."

"Oh are you ever going to let that go? I was trying to help you, if you didn't rest your wounds wouldn't heal properly!"

"Oh there is no time for resting, we have to act!"

"But now thanks to you, they know that I am alive! Now they are going to do whatever they can to get what's inside my head!"

Misty stood silent for a moment; her foggy memory vaguely recalled that Frasier was asking Gary something... "The carvings?"

Gary nodded. "They have been trying to translate them for years, I am the only one who has been able to translate most of the text."

"And... What does it say?"

Gary shook his head, his expression was stern. "If you knew it could put you in even more danger than you already are. I won't do that to you."

"My shoulder is already in agony, and don't get me started on how my back is feeling right now. I think I can handle it." Misty said angrily, _'If I'm in this, I want to know why, maybe that could help me get Ash back home.'_

"No Misty!" Gary snapped, his fists clenched as his thoughts trailed back to his friend, Professor Green.

"Well then, maybe if I knew the information, they'd keep me alive."

Gary looked over, almost stunned at Misty's ignorance. "You really have no idea. They will torture you, they will do anything to hurt you and they will enjoy making you suffer, whether you give them the information or not." Gary paused for a moment as he looked at the fear on Misty's face. "Still want to know?" Misty directed her gaze down to the rocky floor. "Thought so" Gary slowly walked away. Although concerned about her, he didn't want Misty to see, because to him right now emotion was a weakness. He had made that mistake when Frasier captured Misty. When Frasier ordered Skarmory to let her go, he knew then and there that he would have given him all the information he needed to save her. He could never let that happen again. He had to keep Misty safe at all costs, otherwise he would have to make a decision which he could never live with.

"What about your grandfather? Is he safe?" Gary winced for a moment, but he continued to walk away.

* * *

Gary followed the passageway. As he saw the bright light in front of him, he entered it. His eyes quickly adjusted to the beautiful view that was laid out before him. Gary looked down at the vast forest, it was clearly divided by a raging river. Beyond the forest was a steep mountain, surrounding the entire area. Gary could hear the sounds of the waterfall as it fed the river far across the canyon.

"I know how to pick a good hiding spot." Gary looked over, his good friend standing smugly on the ledge. His head lowered, his brown hair covered his face in a shadow.

"Thank you, don't know what I would have done without you there." Gary remembered back to that frightful moment, the immensely powerful hyper beam shining it's bright light in his face. But just before the attack fired, the floor gave in below him. The hyper beam resealed the hole as it fused all of the loose dirt that had emerged. As Gary tried to regain himself, he saw the culprit of the previous earthquake and of this new hole. Brock's Steelix, although Brock was nowhere to be seen, he knew it was his.

"You are welcome." Brock said smugly as he lifted his head, "Feels good to get out of the office." He had changed much since the days when he travelled with Ash and his friends. He was now a world renowned Pokemon Doctor, with an extremely successful practice. His clothes represented his new found success, his brown shirt was very smart and expensive looking, but he had never lost that kindness that made him so popular with all of his friends.

"Are you going to head back?" Gary asked as Brock stepped carefully towards him from the ledge. They both sat down, gazing out upon the scenic view.

"I was thinking about it, but then I thought that you might need me to help with Misty."

"You know I can heal her wounds just as good as you can."

"I wasn't talking about her injuries." He jested, but Gary didn't smile. "How did she take it?"

"Almost as well as you did..."

"She try to hit you?"

"Oh she got me alright... though I came out from it less scarred than when you found out."

"Yeah well, you do deserve it."

"You still think I should go back then huh?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I can't risk it Brock. It's bad enough that you two know."

"But Frasier..."

"It makes no difference. Anyone that's near me will be in danger." Gary looked away from Brock, trying to hide his shame. He so badly wanted to see his grandfather again, he wanted more than anything to be able to look after and work with him like how they used to. But even being close to him right now, could put him in so much danger.

"Gary, he's safe."

Gary turned to him, his eyes filled with confusion. "What?"

"I told the Professor that he was in danger, I didn't explain why but he understood. He's left, I don't know where but he has gone to another region. Team Rocket won't be able to reach him there."

Gary breathed a sigh of relief. His only family was safe, now he just had his friends to worry about. Although it was still a huge task, it was at least one weight of his shoulders. "Thank you. I owe you a lot."

"Then you can give me an explanation." Brock asked, with little hesitation, "Did you know?"

Gary turned away from him once again, although Brock was being vague, he knew exactly what he meant.

"Please... you owe me that at least."

"I had a hunch... but I never thought they had achieved it till now." Gary remembered back to that Skarmory. Normally, a Skarmory cannot learn hyper beam, but thanks to him they had succeeded in teaching it to him.

"They turned your theory, and made it real." Brock said, almost stunned. He had watched most of the battle unfold from a distance with Arcanine. He could clearly remember the shock he felt when he saw that Skarmory unleash such a powerful hyper beam.

"Skarmory learning that move is the least of our worries." Gary said, refocusing his attention back on Brock. "If they managed that, who knows what else they have accomplished. It will make it even harder for us to get Ash back."

Brock lowered his head in shame. "I hope you don't mean me." He could hardly bare to look at his friend, as Gary looked upon him with shock in his eyes, but also disappointment.

"But Brock... I thought that..."

"You thought wrong." Brock said angrily, his eyes nearly filling with tears. It broke both their hearts. "I... I'm sorry." Brock calmly apologised as he wiped what little tears had slipped through his eyes. "I just can't put my brother in any danger. I don't want to get him involved in this."

Gary smiled kindly as he rested his hands upon Brock's broad shoulders. "Don't worry. I should be sorry for expecting so much from you. You owe me nothing pal." Brock finally felt enough courage to smile back. "You should get back to him; otherwise he'll start to miss that Steelix of his." Gary chuckled.

"Thanks Gary." Brock stood back up, leaving Gary. One step at a time he walked out onto the ledge, pulling out a Pokeball from his pocket he threw it into the air away from the cliff face. Brock suddenly jumped after it and flew into the light. Gary watched on as he landed on Steelix and disappeared underground.

"Thank you..." Gary muttered as he continued to look out at the horizon, whilst Misty lurked watching him from the shadows, with tears dripping from her cheeks.

_To be continued_

* * *

_**Authors Note**_

**Hi guys! I should again apologise for how long it is taking me to keep up to date with this and also for the rewrite. You see I actually forgot I had already published this chapter and decided to make some changes to it, but when I realised I thought that this would be better and reveals a bit more without being too overdramatic. Also, I have just started my second year of Uni and well it is taking a lot of my time. But I will try to keep this story going, but especially in the next few weeks I might be a bit slow because I have two presentations as well as an essay and a web page to make. **

**Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope that it has started to open up many more mysteries for you, and I promise next chapter you will find out why Ash was taken! How exciting :D Please enjoy and I would love to hear all your thoughts.**

**Beckyjo13xxx**


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